What motor oil do you use in your Z?

Nissan 350z / Nissan 370z general community discussion forum
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Retired Chief
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I just went over 2000 miles in my Z. I plan on changing the oil every 3000 miles. I’ve always used Castrol oil and Fram filters in my other/previously owned cars. Some guys I work with suggested that I go total synthetic. I searched the forums but couldn’t find a straight answer. Regular or synthetic and which brand? Any suggestions?


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R350Zz33
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u dident get any free oil changes??

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Retired Chief
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R350Zz33 wrote:u dident get any free oil changes??
Good question. I don't know. I'll have to check.

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XterraVersa
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R350Zz33 wrote:u dident get any free oil changes??
No such thing as "free" oil changes. If you dropped the oil changes, you could have bargained down another $1,000 or more. I prefer to do my own. It only take 30 minutes or less.

Use 5w-30 like the owners manual says.

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AZ350Z
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Retired Chief wrote:I just went over 2000 miles in my Z. I plan on changing the oil every 3000 miles. I’ve always used Castrol oil and Fram filters in my other/previously owned cars. Some guys I work with suggested that I go total synthetic. I searched the forums but couldn’t find a straight answer. Regular or synthetic and which brand? Any suggestions?
I strongly suggest Motul to all my customers. We run 5-30 and also run Motul 90PA in the diff. While your at it, consider Redline MT/MT90 mix in your tranny, you will feel a difference.

The Motul is the only oil I have ever run at drift events where I can bounce off the rev limiter for 3-4 hours and never lose a single drop. Anything else I have ever run loses .5 to 1.5 qts.

Some may argue this but I believe the fluids that come from the factory are garbage. Run only the best fluids in your car and it will last alot longer.


ZMEDIC13
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I was thinking of going with Amsoil myself. I used it in my truck before I got rid of it and I never had a problem. Has anyone used it in their Z? How does Amsoil and Motul compare? I also heard somewhere that if you use something other than the Nissan stuff for your tranny and diff that it voids the warranty or something like that...any truth to that?

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R350Zz33
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XterraVersa wrote:
No such thing as "free" oil changes. If you dropped the oil changes, you could have bargained down another $1,000 or more. I prefer to do my own. It only take 30 minutes or less.

Use 5w-30 like the owners manual says.
i talked them down to 29 with mats oil changes a car wash and premium maintenance program. i think i did pretty good. only thing i dident use is my unlimited car washes for a year.

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RCAnismo
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Retired Chief wrote:I just went over 2000 miles in my Z. I plan on changing the oil every 3000 miles. I’ve always used Castrol oil and Fram filters in my other/previously owned cars. Some guys I work with suggested that I go total synthetic. I searched the forums but couldn’t find a straight answer. Regular or synthetic and which brand? Any suggestions?
I did some research on here and other places when I first bought my Z and decided to go with Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5-30 and I use the premium Mobil 1 oil filters also. I like it but I'm also not drifting around corners bouncing off the rev limiter. Probably depends on what you plan on doing with it and how your going to drive the car. IMO for normal street use my vote is for Mobil One.

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R350Zz33
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my friends swear by royal purple. i know people with cars capable of reving to 12 grand and they go there there running royal purple. u go in my friends houses and they have cases of the stuff.

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LeroyBrown
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R350Zz33 wrote:my friends swear by royal purple. i know people with cars capable of reving to 12 grand and they go there there running royal purple. u go in my friends houses and they have cases of the stuff.
thats all iv been using for the past year and ill keep using it.

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aris_unlimited
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I use Royal purple oil, and the Mobil 1 oil filter. I personally believe Mobil 1 oil filters to be the best out there, with Purolators Pure one being a close second.

http://www.knizefamily.net/min....html

This can help you decide on an oil filter...

I had an oil comparison one too, but can't find it anymore. All I remember is that Royal purple came out the best.

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Mr. Z33
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Mobil 1 fully synthetic and their oil filter is what I have used since my first oil change with the car. That was when I got my 03 with 6,500 around a year ago.

Anthonysflying
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I've been doing Mobil 1 forever. I switched to Eneos 0w-50 for the winter. Its been smooth and great and i haven't burned any. I'm just about to do a change, well see how clean it is. Royal purple in the M/T and Diff. Royal purple gear oil is the only brand i found in stores safe for the Z (GL-4)

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marlin29311
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Can't go wrong with M1, RP, Amsoil, Quaker State, etc. Hell any full synthetic oil out there, changed at 3k is going to be great for the VQ on the road and what not.

Stay away from FRAM oil filters - those things are God awful. Buy a good filter like M1, Bosch, K&N, etc...


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albert_ey
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I personally use Royal Purple, 5W-30 and a K&N Oil Filter. Nothing else. I want to try Amsoil or Motul, but the last time I checked it was really expensive. I can't imagine I'd need that since I rarely rev above 4500 RPM's. But I might try it sometime.

JETPILOT
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I'd stay away from Racing oils like MOTUL 300V. They don't have the detergency needed for extended drain intervals, and they are prohibitively expensive unless you need the protection which if you drive on the street do not. The high molly content will foul catalytic converters. Stick to SAE rated oils specified in the owners manual.

If you want to know what's going on with your motor and which oil is best send your used oil out for analysis to Balckstone Labs. For $30 they will analyise your oil and tell you how it's doing. Unless you get a used oil analysis your just making uneducated choices.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/


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nissanracer300zx
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You should use castrol oil, if you use a synthetic your wasting your money down the drain the only advantage your getting off a synthetic oil its man made by scientests and it has special addictives that are combined with the oil, I sugest castrol oil thats what I use in all my Zs. P.S you should change your oil every 3000 miles, if you dont change your oil by the recomended miles you might seize up your engine.

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albert_ey
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What Kind of Oil do you use Jet?

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Retired Chief
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Thanks for all the responses.

JETPILOT
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I use MOTUL 300V. But I have a built motor and I use my car only on the track. My engine has different clearances and has diffferent needs. It is not a daily driver. I change my oil after every track day and send it for used oil analysis. I need to know what metals are found in my oil to see if I hava a possible wear issue. The molybendenum is OK for my motor as I have no catalytic converters to foul. The Motul 300V is ester based and is the best oil for dealing with the huge amount of heat my motor is making at the track.

If I were to pick an every day oil for the VQ35DE Iwould choose the Rotella T-Syn. It's cheap and readilly available and shows good results on the used oil analysis.

Using synthetic is a no brainer if you own your car and are going to keep it for a while. If it's a lease or plan on getting rid of it after 3 years just have the dealership change the oil. You already paid for it.


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albert_ey
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I see! I've never heard of Rotella T-Syn, I'll look into it.

Thank you!

Edit: What about for the HR?

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Tennz
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Retired Chief wrote:I just went over 2000 miles in my Z. I plan on changing the oil every 3000 miles. I’ve always used Castrol oil and Fram filters in my other/previously owned cars. Some guys I work with suggested that I go total synthetic. I searched the forums but couldn’t find a straight answer. Regular or synthetic and which brand? Any suggestions?
5 30 Castrol Syntech every 10,000. I have 50,000 happy miles on her.


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albert_ey
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Every 10,000! Wow, I can't let her go past 3,000 even on full synthetic. I know, over kill.

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Tennz
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albert_ey wrote:Every 10,000! Wow, I can't let her go past 3,000 even on full synthetic. I know, over kill.
My Benz gets serviced every 13,000, I figure my Z is just not that much different. If I changed the oil every 3K I would be in the shop every 6 weeks.

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_b.jaye_
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Tennz wrote:My Benz gets serviced every 13,000, I figure my Z is just not that much different. If I changed the oil every 3K I would be in the shop every 6 weeks.
not sure what model benz you have, but i would imagine it has a much higher oil capacity than the Z... probably around 7-8 to the Zs aprox 5 quart capacity... id shoot for around 6-7000 even on full synth with the Zs low capacity, but hey... thats me

figgsy4ever
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Mr. Z33 wrote:Mobil 1 fully synthetic and their oil filter is what I have used since my first oil change with the car. That was when I got my 03 with 6,500 around a year ago.
I have the same habit

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redsx13
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mobil 1 10w-30

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dspiel
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Motul Synthetic since 10k miles

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Kimmi
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I use Mobil 1 full synthetic, just be sure you don't go back to regular yaaa know

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Tennz
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_b.jaye_ wrote:
not sure what model benz you have, but i would imagine it has a much higher oil capacity than the Z... probably around 7-8 to the Zs aprox 5 quart capacity... id shoot for around 6-7000 even on full synth with the Zs low capacity, but hey... thats me
The Mercedes 3L v6 uses 6 liters in a change, However Mercedes does have a oil sensor to sense if the oil becomes dirty. Then it is changed earlier. The Nissan's are said to have small oil holes in the block that can clog at the drop of a hat, so I do check the oil every other week to see if it still ok. If it's dirty I change it then if not I'll continue to run it to 10,000.



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